To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, most rapidly traveling through cold, dense regions and slower through hotter rocks. (A) interior, most rapidly traveling through cold, dense regions and slower (B) interior, which travel most rapidly through cold, dense regions, and more slowly (C) interior, traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions and more slowly (D) interior and most rapidly travel through cold, dense regions, and slower (E) interior and that travel most rapidly through cold, dense regions and slower https://discovermagazine.com/1996/nov/hotandcoldspotsb935 To map Earth’s interior, geologists use a worldwide network of seismometers that chart the movement of seismic waves generated by earthquakes. These waves, originating in Earth’s crust or upper mantle, ricochet around the interior, traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions, and more slowly through hotter rocks. First glance The first three choices place a comma after the word interior. The final two choices remove the comma and use the word and. These two clues together signal possible Modifier, Sentence Structure, or Parallelism issues. Issues (1) Parallelism: X and Y Find the X and Y portions that map to the parallelism marker. (A) most rapidly traveling … and slower (B) travel most rapidly … and more slowly (C) traveling most rapidly … and more slowly (D) most rapidly travel … and slower (E) travel most rapidly … and slower Answers (B) and (C) are definitely parallel because both use the –ly versions of the relevant words ( rapidly, slowly ). Answers (A), (D), and (E) use slower instead of more slowly . Slower is primarily an adjective, not an adverb. While it can be possible in certain circumstances to use slower as an adverb, when parallelism is in play, it’s better to use the strict adverb form to signal clear parallelism: rapidly and slowly . Eliminate choices (A), (D), and (E). (2) Modifier: which Answer (B) employs a comma-which modifier. Check to make sure it’s used correctly. A comma- which modifier should refer back to the closest main noun before the comma. In this case, that noun is interior , which does not make sense. The prior noun is earth’s crust , but this also does not make sense. The logical word is seismic waves but this is too far back to go with the comma- which modifier. Eliminate choice (B). The Correct Answer Correct answer (C) uses the parallel construction most rapidly and more slowly . It also properly uses a comma –ing modifier, which refers back to the prior action, not just the prior main noun. The prior action is the seismic waves ricochet(ing) around the interior of the earth’s crust .

Your understanding of how VERB-ing modifiers operate when they follow CLAUSE + COMMA is correct, but in this case, you've got the wrong clause. Take another look at the relevant portion: "...geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior , traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions..." The clause that precedes "traveling" is "that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet..." It makes perfect sense for "traveling most rapidly through cold dense regions," to provide additional context about what the waves are doing when they're ricocheting around, so (C) is fine. The takeaway: when you see COMMA + VERB-ing, it's possible there will be multiple preceding clauses. Make sure you're evaluating the correct one. I hope that helps!

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To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to

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I got this question wrong and I hope someone can explain why the answer is (c).
So according to e-gmat (article link: https://gmatclub.com/forum/usage-of-ver ... 35220.html), if the verb-ing modifier appears after a clause and is preceded by a comma, then it modifies the entire preceding clause.
If this is true, shouldn't "traveling most rapidly through... slowly" in (c) should modify the clause "geologist use a network... around its interior"?
And if so, (c) doesn't make sense as a correct answer. I'm really confused, any help will be appreciated, thanks!

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Your understanding of how VERB-ing modifiers operate when they follow CLAUSE + COMMA is correct, but in this case, you've got the wrong clause. Take another look at the relevant portion:

that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior

The clause that precedes "traveling" is "that [waves] originate in the earth's crust and ricochet..." It makes perfect sense for "traveling most rapidly through cold dense regions," to provide additional context about what the waves are doing when they're ricocheting around, so (C) is fine.

The takeaway: when you see COMMA + VERB-ing, it's possible there will be multiple preceding clauses. Make sure you're evaluating the correct one.

I hope that helps!

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For option C, I eliminated it because I thought the verb-ing modifies geologists. Usually on GMAT comma + verb-ing modifier (Gerund I think its called) modifies the subject of the sentence. Can you please shed a light on this issue. Why "traveling" modifies waves?

More importantly - if we are presented with the main clause and substantive clause, does comma + verb-ing modifies the closest clause or the clause that MAKES sense with it?

Substantitive + main, verb-ing. Can here verb-ing modify substantitative clause noun if it makes sense to modify it or it has to modify main noun?

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Brego7

the clause that MAKES sense with it?

Hi Brego7, this is the position I would go with, though the nearest clause would be a preference.

In light of this, option C in the sentence under consideration is absolutely fine, since the nearest clause is:

that (seismic waves) originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior

So, the participial phrase (traveling most rapidly through...) is correctly modifying the subject (seismic waves) of the nearest preceding clause.

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so from this question can I infer that ambiguity in verb-ing's reference is allowed,

also verb-ed and which function same when used after the clause.

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so from this question can I infer that ambiguity in verb-ing's reference is allowed

Hi Anand, such participial phrases (that are used towards the end of a sentence/clause and are preceded by a comma) modify the subject of the preceding clause.

In option C, participial phrase traveling most rapidly.. correctly modifies seismic waves, the subject of the preceding clause.

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GMATNinja
Hi, Mr Ninja
I am not a native speaker so my writing can be confusing. I've been a big fan of you and Ron since I started preparing for GMAT.
Choice B：interior, which travel most rapidly through cold, dense regions, and more slowly

QUESTION 1: When we look at option B in this problem, should I think of "which travel most...." is trying to modify the noun "waves" and say "this construction is terrible because it puts two modifiers(modifying the same noun) together" or should I think of the rule that "which" modifies the preceded noun and say "the verb (travel) should be singular?

MY OPINION： I prefer the first thought process because "which" doesn't alway modify the preceding noun, it could sometimes jump around.

QUESTION 2
I also have another question, since "choose the answer that is most effective.... in conveying message" is mentioned in the OG,(OG instruction to SC I believe) should I consider construction when I eliminate 3 choices and end up with 2 choices(when I really have to pick one out of the two)?

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newspapersalesman

Regarding your first question, I think you should consider BOTH of the points you mentioned when eliminating choice (B)!

You are right that "which" doesn't always modify the preceding noun, but in this case we have an entire clause in between the "which" and the thing it should modify. That alone is a pretty strong vote against (B). And, as you said, the "which" can't possibly modify the closest noun ("interior"), since that would require using a singular verb ("travels").

But let's say we're okay with that and assume that "which" correctly modifies "waves". In that case we'd want to use a parallel structure, i.e.: "... seismic waves (1) that originate and ricochet AND (2) that travel...". Instead, choice (B) essentially gives us, "... seismic waves (1) that originate and ricochet, (2) which travel...". The use of two different relative pronouns ("that" and "which") and the lack of an "and" to link the two modifiers makes this structure confusing, at best.

So instead of looking at individual grammar points in a bubble to figure out which "rule" (B) violates the most, just recognize that the logical meaning is much clearer in choice (C).

Grammar issues are, at heart, about clarity and logic. So when comparing two choices, you always want to think about meaning. Do the differences between the two options impact the meaning? Is the meaning more clear/logical/reasonable in one option?

For more on that, check out the our SC guide for beginners, if you haven't already.

I hope that helps!

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Hi everyone, the verb after "which" is actually plural (travel instead of travels); therefore, shouldn't this imply that we are talking about seismic waves, the only plural subject in this entire sentence? So choice B would technically make sense? Thanks!

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jiaxin

Hello, jiaxin. I would not eliminate (B) on the grounds of which travel, but instead because of the comma preceding and. Compare (B) and (C):

To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, most rapidly traveling through cold, dense regions and slower through hotter rocks.

(B) interior, which travel most rapidly through cold, dense regions, and more slowly
(C) interior, traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions and more slowly

In the sentence at hand, cold, dense is acting as a coordinate adjective to modify regions. The comma is necessary because the sentence could just as easily reverse the order of the adjectives, as in, dense, cold regions. If you follow the shell of the sentence with each answer choice, you get a comma that cannot be justified in (B), since and is just acting to join two adverbs that describe how waves travel, A and B, rather than introduce the final item in a list or join two independent clauses. Consider:

1) Geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves, which travel most rapidly through cold, dense regions, and more slowly through hotter rocks.
2) Geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves, traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions and more slowly through hotter rocks.

Although I have seen people place a comma in the slot I am drawing attention to in (B), I have NOT seen such usage in a correct SC answer on the GMAT™. I hope that helps clarify any lingering doubts you may have harbored; if not, I would be happy to discuss the question further.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

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sayantanc2k

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I was stuck b/w C and E.

In C, I thought that there is ambiguity on who is travelling => the waves or geologists. So, I thought that was wrong.
Can someone explain why is this right then.

A present participle modifier refers to the subject of the preceding clause or the entire preceding clause.

In this case the clause " that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior" is the preceding clause, and hence the present participle modifier "traveling most rapidly...." refers to the subject "that" of the previous clause; the pronoun "that" here is used to replace "waves".

Consider that the entire present participle modifier "traveling most rapidly...." is nested within the relative clause "that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its.......through hotter rocks."

You are right in thinking that there could be a bit of ambiguity since the present participle clause "travelling...." could refer to "Geologists", if one considers that it is outside the relative clause "that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its.......through hotter rocks." However in that case we would have to choose E as the correct answer, which has a more severe problem as follows:

E is wrong because two clauses are joined just with "and" not with comma + "and".

Wrong: I play and I sing
Right: I play, and I sing
Right: I play and sing.

Similarly,
Wrong: that originate and ricochet and that travel
Right: that originate and ricochet, and that travel
Right: that originate, ricochet and travel

Moreover option E does not depict the bearing between ricocheting and travelling and considers them as two different activities.

Dear sayantanc2k

The rule you told in the question
Wrong: I play and I sing
Right: I play, and I sing
Right: I play and sing.

is not complying to this below question can you please help

https://gmatclub.com/forum/many-states- ... 05883.html

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RAHUL_GMAT I addressed this in your other post, but the short version is that this is not a rule. E does not convey the meaning well, but there's nothing grammatically wrong with saying "that originate and ricochet . . . . and that travel," as long as there is a reason not to put all three terms into a simple list. For the record, we can also say "I play and I sing."

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Let's go through each answer:

(A) To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, most rapidly traveling through cold, dense regions and slower through hotter rocks.
ELIMINATE. Most rapidly is not parallel with slower.

(B)To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, which travel most rapidly through cold, dense regions, and more slowly through hotter rocks
ELIMINATE. Which is referring back to interior. So the interior travel most rapidly? Doesn't make sense.

(C)To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions and more slowly through hotter rocks
KEEP IT. -ING Modifier is referring back to waves. Most rapidly and more slowly are parallel. You could say that Traveling is referring to geologists use, BUT is important to notice that -ING modifiers modify the PRIOR action which is seismic waves that .... The main sentence of the prompt has a main noun (geologists), main verb (use), object (seismic waves), but likewise has embedded a second clause which is joint by THAT, so as mentioned before TRAVELING will refer back to the closest action.

(D)To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior and most rapidly travel through cold, dense regions, and slower through hotter rocks
ELIMINATE. Have the same problem as A (Which is referring to its interior). Also we have a conjunction between interior and travel that doesn't make sense. Most rapidly is not parallel with slower.

(E) To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior and that travel most rapidly through cold, dense regions and slower through hotter rocks
ELIMINATE. You could argue that "that travel" is referring back to seismic waves, because there is a parallelism structure between originate and travel. The problem with this answer is that most rapidly is not parallel with slower.

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Why does C's
"traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions and more slowly"
not modify the entire preceding clause
"geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior"

Why is it that "traveling most rapidly" is only modifying the seismic waves piece?
I eliminated C because "geologists use a network..traveling most rapidly.." is obviously illogical.

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fireagablast

Yeah fireagablast, but the immediate preceding clause is:

that (seismic waves) originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior.

So, seismic waves is the subject of the immediate preceding clause. It obviously makes sense to say:

seismic waves originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, traveling most rapidly...

From what I have seen, there is some flexibility in terms of what such participial phrases (traveling most rapidly) modify: they can either modify the immediate preceding clause or the main clause, whichever makes sense.

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fireagablast

I suppose then i'm confused how the clauses are being split in this case.
Why is the statement not one single clause and instead of two seperate clauses?

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fireagablast

I suppose then i'm confused how the clauses are being split in this case.
Why is the statement not one single clause and instead of two seperate clauses?

With C, the sentence is:

To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions and more slowly through hotter rocks.

The structure of this sentence is:

To map Earth's interior
- Introductory infinitive phrase

Geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves
- Main (Independent) Clause

that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior
- Relative (Dependent) Clause

traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions and more slowly through hotter rocks
- Participial phrase

You can watch our video on Clauses:

You can also watch our video on on Independent & Dependent Clauses

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Phrases & Clauses, their application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

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To map Earth's interior, geologists use a network of seismometers to chart seismic waves that originate in the earth's crust and ricochet around its interior, most rapidly traveling through cold, dense regions and slower through hotter rocks.

(A) interior, most rapidly traveling through cold, dense regions and slower

(B) interior, which travel most rapidly through cold, dense regions, and more slowly

(C) interior, traveling most rapidly through cold, dense regions and more slowly

(D) interior and most rapidly travel through cold, dense regions, and slower

(E) interior and that travel most rapidly through cold, dense regions and slower

EducationAisle VeritasKarishma GMATNinja

Why is B incorrect? Why can't which refer to waves? I think it can.

He has a room full of chocolates, which is on ground floor.

Here which is referring "room."

Thanks!

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Why is B incorrect? Why can't which refer to waves? I think it can.

Hi Ashmit, waves is way far from which in B; in fact, interior and curst are way closer to which, than waves is. Remember which almost always modifies the nearest grammatically eligible word.

Quote:

He has a room full of chocolates, which is on ground floor.

Here which is referring "room."

Correct. Notice that the presence of is in your sentence mandates that which must modify a singular noun. Since chocolates is plural, which cannot modify chocolates here.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses modifier issue of "which", their application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

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ashmit99

Why is B incorrect? Why can't which refer to waves? I think it can.

Hi Ashmit, waves is way far from which in B; in fact, interior and curst are way closer to which, than waves is. Remember which almost always modifies the nearest grammatically eligible word.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses modifier issue of "which", their application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

Alright got your point. However, don't you think "which" wouldn't make sense with interior or curst? Because interior or crust can't travel.

We've seen a lot of cases where which or that has two antecedents but logically they would refer to only one. Now, my point is we only see logical antecedents in GMAT right? Because it is said that GMAT is not a grammar test.

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